2008 Woodie Awards
Thornton flunks out in 'Mr. Woodcock'
Alan Sharp
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Entertainment
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Billy Bob Thornton and Seann William Scott star in "Mr. Woodcock," an allegedly screwball new comedy.
Thornton's ("Sling Blade") title character is the P.E. teacher from hell, using his gymnasium as a torture chamber to torment seventh graders ad nauseum as a means to "build their characters."
Scott (the "American Pie" films) co-stars as John Farley. Farley in seventh grade is a pudgy sad sack who takes the worst of Mr. Woodcock's abuse. The adult Farley channels that abuse into becoming a self-help guru on an autograph tour for his new bestselling book.
Farley gets invited back to his home town in Nebraska to receive their highest honor, the Corncob Key. Upon his arrival home, he is dismayed to learn that his mother, Beverly, played by the slumming Susan Sarandon ("Dead Man Walking"), is now dating his old nemesis Mr. Woodcock. Wackiness gets set to ensue.
The problem here is that the wackiness never shows up. This is a mean-spirited comedy that relies too much on the mean and not enough on the spirit. The jokes are tired and listless, many coming off like rejected lines from mediocre sitcoms.
Director Craig Gillespie, whose only other film credit is the indie "Lars and the Real Girl," plods the film along at a slug-like pace. This movie was less than 90 minutes long, but I felt like I was in the theatre for more than two hours.
The script by first-time screenwriters Michael Carnes and Josh Gilbert is lame out loud. Gilbert has been an actor on the failed sitcoms "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" and "That 80's Show." That explains a lot of the problems with the script here.
The cast meanders through the film. The only real emotion is shown by Scott, and he overdoes it. Sarandon is totally unbelievable as a Nebraska housewife, acting like she just came home from 5th Avenue. The worst is Thornton's robotic, monotone performance. It's like he was in a constant fog of Botox and Zoloft. His face and voice never moved. Not once. I saw more expressive acting during a Chuck Norris/Steven Seagal double feature on the Encore Action channel.
I'm usually a fan of both Seann William Scott and Billy Bob Thornton. This film has me considerably less excited for their next projects. It's a case of a comedy showing you the funniest bits in the trailers. Bummer.
Thornton's ("Sling Blade") title character is the P.E. teacher from hell, using his gymnasium as a torture chamber to torment seventh graders ad nauseum as a means to "build their characters."
Scott (the "American Pie" films) co-stars as John Farley. Farley in seventh grade is a pudgy sad sack who takes the worst of Mr. Woodcock's abuse. The adult Farley channels that abuse into becoming a self-help guru on an autograph tour for his new bestselling book.
Farley gets invited back to his home town in Nebraska to receive their highest honor, the Corncob Key. Upon his arrival home, he is dismayed to learn that his mother, Beverly, played by the slumming Susan Sarandon ("Dead Man Walking"), is now dating his old nemesis Mr. Woodcock. Wackiness gets set to ensue.
The problem here is that the wackiness never shows up. This is a mean-spirited comedy that relies too much on the mean and not enough on the spirit. The jokes are tired and listless, many coming off like rejected lines from mediocre sitcoms.
Director Craig Gillespie, whose only other film credit is the indie "Lars and the Real Girl," plods the film along at a slug-like pace. This movie was less than 90 minutes long, but I felt like I was in the theatre for more than two hours.
The script by first-time screenwriters Michael Carnes and Josh Gilbert is lame out loud. Gilbert has been an actor on the failed sitcoms "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" and "That 80's Show." That explains a lot of the problems with the script here.
The cast meanders through the film. The only real emotion is shown by Scott, and he overdoes it. Sarandon is totally unbelievable as a Nebraska housewife, acting like she just came home from 5th Avenue. The worst is Thornton's robotic, monotone performance. It's like he was in a constant fog of Botox and Zoloft. His face and voice never moved. Not once. I saw more expressive acting during a Chuck Norris/Steven Seagal double feature on the Encore Action channel.
I'm usually a fan of both Seann William Scott and Billy Bob Thornton. This film has me considerably less excited for their next projects. It's a case of a comedy showing you the funniest bits in the trailers. Bummer.
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